Corby team hoping for 'real' culprit

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A week after the "miracle worker" of Indonesia's commercial
courts was reappointed as Schapelle Corby's lawyer, Hotman Paris
Hutapea has convinced the Bali High Court to reopen her case so
that new witnesses can give evidence.

Mr Hutapea, the Jakarta-based lawyer with a penchant for big
cars and big diamonds, said he wrote to every judge on the Bali
High Court "and all of their bosses in the Supreme Court" with his
request.

It is highly unusual for the High Court to agree to new
hearings, and even more unusual to hold a media conference
publicising the decision, but Mr Hutapea has sought this result
since Corby's conviction, and has proved that he gets results.

The chief judge of the High Court, Gusti Made Lingga, said the
court had agreed to further hearings to allow the defence to
produce Australian witnesses, including customs officers, baggage
handlers and the owner of the 4.1 kilograms of marijuana found in
Corby's bag in October.

The Denpasar District Court, which in May convicted Corby and
sentenced her to 20 years jail, will be asked to hold the extra
hearings, preferably with the same judges, and well before August
27, when the High Court is due to finish the appeal.

Mr Lingga said there was really only one person they wanted to
hear from. "We need the person who put it (the bag of marijuana)
inside Corby's bag," he said. Mr Hutapea conceded that even he
would struggle to find that person. "The maximum I can do is to
provide the witnesses I have already mentioned," he said.

For a month Mr Hutapea has written repeatedly to the Minister
for Justice, Chris Ellison, and other Government ministers seeking
their help to convince customs staff, who are paid by the
Government, along with baggage handlers in Brisbane and Sydney, to
give evidence.

A spokesman for Senator Ellison said the Government had written
to Qantas to convey the request, but it could not compel people to
give evidence.

Mr Hutapea said the Australian Government had done nothing to
help Corby, and repeated his claim that one of the lawyers the
Government had put forward, Perth QC Mark Trowell, had helped
sabotage Corby's defence by alleging her legal team was involved in
bribery.

He called on Australians to write to the Government to ask them
to identify those airport staff who were on duty the day Corby
travelled and to convince them to give evidence.

He also wanted the Australian Federal Police to give evidence
about recent incidents of illegal movement of drugs through
Australian airports, and a report he claimed the AFP had prepared
that detailed these incidents.

He said there was very little time to get the witnesses and they
could give evidence by video link if they did not want to come to
Bali.

Schapelle Corby's mother, Rosleigh Rose, last night told Channel
Nine Corby's legal team wanted Qantas staff who booked in her
daughter on the flight to Bali to testify.

She said if Victorian prisoner John Patrick Ford's testimony was
true that former prisoner Ronnie Vigenza allegedly owned the
marijuana, Vigenza should definitely give evidence at the new
hearing. Vigenza has denied the allegation.